John Brotherton, a Beaverton High School and Oregon State University graduate, stars in "Furious 7" with Tyrese Gibson.

(Scott Garfield/Universal Pictures)

John Brotherton remembers falling in love with movies at the old KOIN Center Cinemas in downtown Portland. His mother would take him to see the artier, out-of-the-mainstream movies (the kind that play at the Fox Tower now) and then take him to dinner, where she'd discuss the acting, directing, costumes and score with her impressionable young son.

"One of my greatest memories that sums up our relationship is I was in seventh grade in pre-algebra class at Whitford Junior High," Brotherton says. "I was a good kid who didn't get in trouble all that often and all of a sudden I heard my name over the loudspeaker calling me to the office. I was like, uh oh, did I do something? I'm walking toward the office and my mom comes out and says 'want to go to the movies?' We went down to the KOIN and saw 'The Shawshank Redemption' and to this day it's one of my all-time favorite films."

Brotherton is calling from Hollywood, two days before the premiere of "Furious 7," the latest in the car and guns franchise that stars Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Dwayne Johnson and the late Paul Walker. Brotherton plays Sheppard, Kurt Russell's assistant, the latest role in a busy acting career that's taken him from Beaverton High School and Oregon State to a three-year hitch on "One Life to Live" and lots of guest spots on TV. "Furious 7" is his second straight feature, after "The Conjuring," and he talked about his experience working with a big-name cast and how he got started in the business.

So who is your "Furious 7" character, and how did you get the part?

I play the commanding officer in an underground special forces unit led by Kurt Russell's character. Essentially I play his right-hand man. He's the guy in the suit; I'm the guy with the gun. Where he goes, I follow. Working on Kurt Russell's hip was incredibly awesome. He's such a gracious professional and humble dude -- it was so amazing.

As far as getting the part, it really came down to the fact that I'd worked with the director before in "The Conjuring," James Wan. He's a brilliant, brilliant mind, and I had a great time on that movie. Fortunately we experienced some success on that movie and he's a wonderfully loyal man. He's on his journey -- he created the "Saw" franchise through "Insidious" and "The Conjuring" and he's taking as many people as he can on his ride. His stunt department, his hair and makeup department -- anyone that he trusts and he can bring along, and I got to join that group and he took me on this ride.

Did you have to audition?

I did. I went through the normal audition process, and I felt lucky that I had a relationship with him. It's interesting: on a movie like this, there are so few parts he can actually cast because most of the parts get filled by these giant A-list celebrities. Even if they're small parts they just pack that movie as tight as they can (laughs). It was a great experience for me to be a fly on the wall with all these incredibly talented artists.

You're right -- a sequel like "Furious 7" is mostly pre-cast with everyone from the previous movies.

Exactly. It was a similar situation that James put me in with "The Conjuring" because I was the only other adult after these four incredible leads: Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Lili Taylor and Ron Livingston. I got to be the adult fly on the wall in that one, and it was the same way with this.

I remember showing up my first day of work and there was Vin and Paul and Kurt and Tyrese (Gibson) and I didn't even know Ludacris was supposed to be there, and Michelle. I was just like, holy cow! A total pinch-me moment. My Day One was a total baptism by fire. Welcome to the "Fast and the Furious" franchise!

We were in a garage, surrounded by cars and guns and computers and massive celebrities (laughs).

If you're Kurt Russell's right-hand man, you must drive a car and shoot a gun.

I do! My car isn't quite as exciting. It's the typical black, unmarked, tinted SUV. Your standard overseas military vehicle. But I do have some fun equipment that I got to play with (laughs). We had a Navy Seal trainer showing us how to walk, talk, hold, shoot, reload like you would if you were really doing it. That was really cool. I got a lot of one-on-one time with this guy because I was the principal character of this special unit's force. He was teaching me how to walk and reload without ever taking your eyes off the target and having only a second of time pass. He taught me hand signals and motions, all the details of commanding a force like that. It was like being a grown-up and an 8-year-old GI Joe at the same time.

Those are skills you can transfer into your daily life in Hollywood.

Sure, sure (laughs). Now I can hold my own.

Where did you go for the shoot?

Three places, really: Los Angeles, Atlanta and Abu Dhabi, which was incredible.

What's one thing that really sticks out about the whole experience?

Oh boy. Well, one memory in particular ... working with Kurt Russell every day was incredible because he's such a professional and a gracious guy who you could talk to about anything ... but there was one thing. It was Day Two, a scene between myself, Kurt Russell, Paul Walker and Vin Diesel. They were setting up lights, and it was just Kurt and myself standing there, and I'm covered in military gear from head to toe, night vision goggles and military vest and ammunition and guns -- I mean, I'm loaded because we're about to go on a raid.

So I'm standing there and I say "Kurt, you still love it?" And he turns to me with this big grin on his face and says "Hell yeah, I love it. Look at you." He tells me to put my fingers in the air and says "take a picture of that and send it to your buddies!"

He just gets it -- we're getting to do what we did as kids playing in the dirt, and he hasn't lost any of that freshness. That's something I'll never forget.

One of the other strongest memories I have is working with Paul. He did something the first day that was so simple that has forever lasted with me. He comes walking by when we're taking a break and just sticks his hand up and gives me a high-five and keeps on his way. Just something you'd do with your buddy in the hall in high school. There was no conversation, he just walks by and gives me an old-fashioned buddy high-five, and it made me feel so welcome. Just a welcome to the team kind of thing.

His death really hit everybody hard.

It rocked this world down here. As devastated as I was, it was the tip of the iceberg compared to people that had worked with him for so long and his family. It was as devastating as it can get on so many levels. He truly, truly was the guy that you heard about. He truly cared about other people and did charity work totally under the radar and really cared about everyone on the set.

Where are you from?

I'm from all over the Northwest. We moved to Portland when I was 6 years old. I went to Maplewood Elementary School in Portland and then we moved to Beaverton for junior high and I went to Whitford and then Beaverton High School. I wasn't done being a Beaver so I went on to Oregon State University and was a Beaver again.

I graduated from high school in 1998 and I'm really proud because it was such a fun year. My senior class did well across the board. I have a lot of pride in the BHS days, for sure.

When did you know you wanted to be an actor?

At age 10 my mom got me involved in drama camp in Portland at the Mittleman Jewish Community Center. They had a great theater program and I started doing Shakespeare and stuff. We did "Bye Bye Birdie" and all sorts of plays.

I fell in love with it but during the school year I was more of your traditional jock. I had this love of theater but I didn't do anything with it. Then in college I was studying business but I still wanted to do something that made me happy with my electives so I got back into theater. I was the only business major in the theater program but I didn't care. I loved it.

As time went on it started to make more and more sense and then going into my senior year I got an internship with a real-estate company in Seattle and ... it was a much more miserable experience than I thought it was going to be.

There was a moment where I was standing in line at a QFC in Seattle and I was staring at the cover of a magazine. There was an actor on the front, it was Ben Affleck, and he seemed like a normal guy from a normal neighborhood who committed to acting. I called my mom and told her I was going to finish my senior year and then go to LA and she erupted in applause.